Finding Your Inner Strength
by akswimmer97
Summary: Kagome finds herself questioning her path when InuYasha betrays her. Deciding she's had enough, she sets out on a quest for strength and independence. After running into Sesshomaru toward the beginning of her journey, she finds herself crossing paths with him time and time again as time goes on.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the plot or characters in InuYasha

I don't know when or how often I'll be updating. It's just a little story I'm doing in my free time. Please feel free to comment but constructive criticism only, please. If you don't like it then feel free to not read it.

**1**

A breeze swept gently through the trees as the odd group of both human and youkai traveled through the forest. The soothing sounds of the leaves moving and the occasional bird chirping cheerfully reflected the mood of those in the group as they spoke lightly among themselves. The demon slayer with a small fire neko in her arms walked between the monk and strangely clothed girl with the fox youkai kit on her shoulder. The silver-haired hanyou walked a little way ahead of the others, senses alert for any signs of danger while half listening to the conversation behind him. The ears on top of his head swiveled at the sound of tinkling laughter from the strangely clothed girl behind him. Her laughter brought smiles to her companions as they walked through the sunlit patches of the forest.

"Oi, wench, do you sense any jewel shards nearby?" The hanyou didn't bother to look behind him as his voice cut through the air. Smile dropping, the girl rolled her eyes at his choice of words and responded in an annoyed tone.

"My name is Kagome. Ka-go-me. You'd think after all this time you would have figured that out by now InuYasha." _Jeez, why can't he stop calling me those names? He should know I would have said something if there were jewel shards nearby. It's the same conversation over and over again all the time. _Her response made him scowl as he looked back over his shoulder at the rest of his group. "But no," she continued, "I would have said something if I sensed anything."

"Feh, whatever. Just hurry up, you guys are walking too slow. Naraku will have gathered all the shards left by the time we get back to Kaede's if you keep moving at this pace." His voice was gruff as he responded, unable to let her have the last word. The monk and slayer exchanged knowing glances and the fox kit shook his head, predicting what was to come next.

"Sit boy!" Kagome's voice rang out as she watched InuYasha's face became unexpectedly acquainted with the ground. A frown pulled at Kagome's lips as muffled curses were heard from the hanyou that struggled to stand against the power of the beads around his neck. "We don't have an agenda InuYasha, I can't do anything if there are no shards around so stop rushing us. We're making good time and there's no need for you to be so rude all the time."

Shaking her head, the slayer stepped around the hanyou on the ground and the five companions continued along the path, knowing InuYasha would catch up once the spell wore off. "You'd think he would learn. It's the same conversation what, every day?" Sango's musings echoed Kagome's previous thoughts. The others murmured their agreements as they went along the path. The short peace was interrupted by the sound of a hand meeting someone's cheek and an angry shout of "Hentai!" from the slayer. Looking over, both Kagome and Shippo shook their heads at the sight of a red handprint on Miroku's face and light blush on Sango's face. The slayer was gripping her Hiraikotsu in both hands and muttering darkly about perverted monks, as Kirara had jumped into Kagome's arms during the excitement.

Shippo sighed. "Speaking of men that will never learn…" Kagome hummed in agreement. A comfortable silence fell over the group, save for the grumbling of InuYasha who had finally stopped eating dirt and now trailed behind his companions. Her mind began to wander as they traveled, a small smile appearing on her face as she thought about seeing her family. _No doubt InuYasha won't let me stay for longer than a day or so, _Kagome thought exasperatedly. _Maybe I'll just 'sit' him if he tries to bring me back early… Who am I kidding? I've never been able to follow through with that. _A frown made its way back onto her face at the thought. _Why can't he understand that I have responsibilities in my time as well? It's not like I can just ignore my life there like he apparently expects me to. The only time he lets me stay longer than a couple of days is if Kikyo is nearby. _Lately, she had been getting more and more annoyed with said hanyou and questioning her feelings toward him. He rarely had anything nice to say to her and was always yelling and calling her derogatory names. And did he really think she didn't notice when he would run off during the night when the dead miko was nearby? It's not like she couldn't sense Kikyou herself. After all, she did carry the other half of her soul. A girl could only take so much before it began to chip away at the feelings that existed between them.

Shippo watched the emotions play across the face of his surrogate mother with a small frown, accurately guessing what was on her mind. He may look like a child, but mentally he was older than his appearance suggested. Due to their longer lifespans, youkai physically aged more slowly. It wasn't only him that noticed the constant degrading comments from the hanyou and how he treated Kagome, Miroku and Sango were also concerned for their friend, knowing her feelings for InuYasha. They couldn't understand how he could treat such a kind and loyal person so badly. Not only that, but they didn't understand how he could keep going back to the clay pot when Kagome was here and alive and so devoted and loyal. Kikyou was none of those things, and everyone was well aware of her intent to drag InuYasha to Hell with her once Naraku was defeated. However, it wasn't their place to intervene. Kagome was a big girl, and she could fight her own battles.

Sort of. That had been something on Kagome's mind for a while now, her lack of ability to defend herself. While it was nice to have someone like InuYasha protecting her, it wasn't fun being such a liability during every battle. Even Shippo had his fox magic to defend himself enough to at least flee if necessary. Sure, her archery had improved during their travels, but that wasn't always reliable especially when an opponent came too close. _I can't even consistently use my miko abilities when I shoot, let alone for anything else. I know they're there, I just don't know how to access them. Hm… maybe I should ask Kaede about that when we get back to Edo. _Nodding to herself, Kagome made up her mind. Tonight, when they bathed, she would ask Sango to teach her physical defense.

As the sun began to set, the group set up camp. Miroku and Shippo went off to collect firewood while the girls began to prepare for their usual dinner of ramen. InuYasha had once again been reacquainted with the dirt for running his mouth at the suggestion of stopping for the night and was sulking in a tree next to the camp. Kagome's patience with the hanyou was paper thin as of late. "I'm not going to give you any ramen if you don't stop acting like a child, InuYasha. Enough is enough. We're not youkai like you, we're human and we require food and rest. If you don't like it then you can leave." The hanyou shut his mouth at the threat against his precious ramen and glared down at Kagome, who was facing him with her hands on her hips. Satisfied that he was done complaining for the time being, Kagome turned back to the now crackling fire to start their dinner.

Once everyone had eaten, more than their fill in InuYasha's case, Kagome and Sango made the necessary threats to the lecherous monk and grabbed their bathing supplies, heading in the direction InuYasha had reluctantly pointed them in for a bath. Shippo walked beside them, still young enough to bathe with the two women despite his mental maturity. The group chatted about their lack of Naraku sightings as they undressed and slipped into the hot springs. It had been a while since he had sent any of his puppets or demons to steal their jewel shards and while it was a nice break, it was also somewhat concerning. Their topic of conversation was a good segway for Kagome, and she turned to Sango as she scrubbed shampoo into her hair.

"Hey, Sango?" When the older girl hummed to show she was listening, Kagome continued. "Do you think you could teach me how to fight?" Both Sango and Shippo looked at the girl in surprise. The normally peaceful girl had never expressed interest in learning to fight before.

"Sure, but may I ask why? I mean, you have InuYasha to protect you and all." Kagome scowled at her response, tilting her head back into the warm water. Not that Sango had done anything wrong, it was a reasonable thought. Her tone of voice showed her frustrations as well as her words.

"He shouldn't have to protect me all the time. All I can do when we face youkai is sit back and try not to hit you guys with arrows that don't always do anything against them. I can't rely on my spiritual arrows because I don't know how to access that power. And what happens when a demon gets too close? I have to trust that InuYasha or one of you will swoop in to rescue me because I'm only human and not fast enough to run away." Sango nodded, accepting her explanation.

"Why don't we start tomorrow morning before we leave? I'm sure the boys won't mind getting a little bit of a later start."

Kagome shook her head, "You know InuYasha will never agree to waste time on this when we could be searching for shards. After all," She smiled sarcastically, "he'll always be there to protect me, right?"

Sango frowned but agreed. Shippo then chimed in. "How about at night before we bathe then? That's the only time we aren't with Miroku and Inuyasha." Once they had come up with a reasonable plan, the three finished their bath and headed back to camp to turn in for the night. Kirara kept Sango warm while Shippo curled up with Kagome, and Inuyasha kept an eye on Miroku from his tree.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the plot or characters in InuYasha

I don't know when or how often I'll be updating. It's just a little story I'm doing in my free time. Please feel free to comment but constructive criticism only, please. If you don't like it then feel free to not read it.

**2**

As the days passed, InuYasha remained none the wiser about the conversation that had taken place or the nightly lessons Kagome was receiving from Sango. They started out slow, with the basics. Sango had Kagome doing exercises to build her strength before taking her through different forms. They would also do stretches similar to that of present-day yoga, and by the end of each lesson, Kagome was left exhausted but pleased with her training. Shippo served as their lookout to make sure Miroku wouldn't come near, trying to spy on the girls while they bathed.

Sango found herself pleasantly surprised by Kagome's progress. She was still the clumsy girl they met years ago but she was becoming more graceful as she learned, and by the end of the second week, there was already a subtle difference in her muscle tone and how she carried herself. They were working on hand to hand combat but the older girl planned on introducing knife fighting to Kagome soon, thinking it would come in handy later on with youkai. Kagome had still been hanging back during the few battles with youkai that they had encountered, neither experienced enough or willing to expose her recent training.

While InuYasha remained clueless, as usual, the ever-observant monk began to take note of the small changes happening to their friend and the fact that they had been taking longer baths as of late. He kept his observations to himself, making a mental note to ask Sango about it once they reached Kaede's village and could have time away from InuYasha. He, as well as his other companions, also noticed that InuYasha was becoming more and more mean and demeaning to Kagome as time passed, calling her weak to her face and always complaining about how she couldn't defend herself and how he had to protect her. He was also comparing her more and more often to Kikyo, talking about how he never had to protect her so much and how she could control her miko abilities, even though the dead miko hadn't been seen in weeks. However, he never offered to do anything about it and for the sake of keeping her secret, Kagome was forced to grit her teeth and say nothing about her nightly lessons. Instead, InuYasha found himself becoming the cause of more and more humanoid craters in the ground, which didn't help his temper. Kagome was quickly losing patience with him and found that her feelings for him were quickly diminishing with how he was treating her.

Before the group reached the village that they used as their "home base", Naraku decided to make an appearance. They found themselves surrounded by poisonous insects, and braced themselves for a fight. Sinister laughter echoed through the trees and InuYasha yelled for the dark hanyou to show himself. "How is my favorite little group doing?" Naraku's smooth voice floated through the air and a shadowy figure became visible in the forest ahead of them. Lifting a transformed Tessaiga, InuYasha growled and stepped back toward his companions, prepared to defend them.

"What do you want Naraku? Ready to die today?" The silver-haired hanyou shouted in typical arrogant InuYasha fashion. Kirara growled loudly and transformed into her larger form, ready to protect her mistress and friends.

"Oh, I don't think so InuYasha." His low, calm voice sounded amused. "But I am curious to see where your loyalties lie." His figure became more and more visible through the trees as he came forward, and InuYasha paid no attention to Naraku's words, preparing to swing his sword at the dark hanyou when Kagome gasped InuYasha's name and rushed forward to stop him.

"What the hell, wench?! I was gonna kill the bastard." InuYasha snapped at the girl next to him.

"Use your eyes InuYasha!" Kagome pointed at the figure that Naraku had tossed onto the ground near him, pointedly ignoring what he called her yet again. She backed up toward Sango and Miroku, readying her bow.

"Kikyo…" InuYasha breathed, eyes glued to the dead miko that lay motionless on the ground. Snarling, he lifted his sword once more, moving closer to Kikyo as the spider hanyou backed off to the side, circling the group slowly. "What game are you playing Naraku?!" Kagome frowned, noting once again that InuYasha would always favor Kikyo when they were together.

The spider youkai had placed himself equidistant from the two mikos, a fact lost on InuYasha and his group. A cruel smirk on his face, Naraku lifted his arms and looked directly at InuYasha. "Who will you protect?" InuYasha didn't have time to be confused before two tentacles were flying through the air, one at Kikyo and one at Kagome. The hanyou didn't hesitate to rush to Kikyo's aid, not realizing his mistake as he destroyed the tentacle and took her into his arms.

At the same time, Kagome's training kicked in and she rolled out of the way as Sango destroyed the tentacle that missed the younger miko by mere centimeters. Naraku's laughter could be heard throughout the forest around them and Miroku threw sutras at the figure, destroying the puppet that took the form of the hanyou. His laughter faded, echoing around them as they all stood wary, prepared for more nasty surprises. Finally tearing his gaze away from the miko in his arms, InuYasha froze, color draining from his face as he looked over at Kagome, who stood expressionless next to their shocked companions. They all knew of InuYasha's feeling for the two mikos, but none of them thought he would ever go this far. Going to her at night was one thing, but to leave Kagome to die? Sango, Miroku, and Shippo all glared at the idiotic hanyou, and even Kirara curled her lip up at him from her place next to Sango.

Standing with Kikyo still in his arms, InuYasha took a step toward the others. "Kagome, I…" He didn't get any further than that before she sharply turned her back on him and addressed the others in a dead voice.

"Let's go. Kaede's village isn't much further and Kikyo will need someone to look over her tonight." With that, Shippo hopped on her shoulder and Kirara transformed into her smaller form and hopped into Kagome's arms, the four friends providing silent support as they walked away from InuYasha and lost themselves in their own thoughts. It seemed that Naraku had achieved his goal of creating, or rather widening, a rift in the group.

Sango's heart ached for her friend. _As soon as Kagome is through that well I am going to give InuYasha the beating of his life. _Sango fumed internally. _The nerve of him! There has NEVER been a time where Kagome has not had that boy's back and this is how he repays her? Leaving her for dead? _She sighed, glancing over at the other girl. _Kagome doesn't deserve this. I don't know if even she can forgive him this time._

Miroku was having similar, albeit calmer thoughts to Sango. He went over an inventory of sutras in his mind, picking out ones that would serve the purpose he desired. _No doubt Kagome will need some time away from the idiot, I'll make sure he is unable to leave Kaede's hut for at least a few days._

_I know he still loves Kikyou but she is DEAD. Why can't he get that through his head? I know all he sees is Kikyou when he looks at me but… I thought at least he cared as a friend. If not for Sango and her training, I would be dead right now. _Cradling the neko youkai in one arm, Kagome reached out and squeezed Sango's hand gratefully. _That's it. I am going to become strong on my own. _She glanced around at her companions. _I can't do this anymore. It's clear that I can no longer rely on InuYasha and I need to figure out how to really survive on my own. I can no longer stand to be a liability and a danger to my friends._

Once they reached the village, Kagome understandably beelined for the well and the others continued to Kaede's hut, Shippo remaining by the well in case the hanyou decided to make the mistake of trying to go after Kagome.

Kaede looked up from tending to soup on the fire as Miroku, Sango, and Kirara entered her hut, murmuring her greetings to the three. It wasn't long before they were joined by InuYasha, who set Kikyo on a mat in the corner. Frowning, Kaede immediately went to her sister. Finding no injuries, she determined that Kikyo merely needed rest and for her soul collectors to bring more souls. Turning, she narrowed her eyes at the group, finding the three steadily ignoring a scowling hanyou.

"Are ye going to tell me what happened? Where be Kagome and Shippo?" When nobody immediately answered, Sango looked coldly at InuYasha.

"Why don't you let InuYasha explain? After all, he is the reason Kagome almost _died_ today." The old miko looked sharply at InuYasha, who had the grace to look ashamed and averted his gaze from the rest of the group.

"Is this true, InuYasha?" Her voice, though not unkind, definitely had an edge to it. She could piece together a general idea of what had happened, considering her sister's presence, but she wanted to hear it for herself.

"It wasn't like that!" His voice was defensive but he shrunk back into the wall of the hut at the looks from his other companions. At Kaede's raised eyebrow, he looked away once more and recounted what happened. Sango and Miroku interjected sharply to correct him when he tried to make it not sound so bad.

Shaking her head, Kaede turned away from InuYasha, choosing to stir her soup since she couldn't bear to look at him for the moment. "Ye truly are a fool InuYasha."

"Feh, whatever." He scowled again and started toward the door. "I'm going to find the wench. We don't have time for her to waste at home." He found his path blocked by a vicious looking Sango.

"I don't think so InuYasha. She has every right to go home and relax, especially after today. You are despicable and I should beat you until you can't move." InuYasha cowered away from the terrifying slayer's rage, only to walk into a sutra that Miroku slapped on him. Finding that he could no longer move, InuYasha cursed and began struggling against the sutra.

"What the hell Miroku?! Let me go!" He growled at the monk, who began placing more sutras on him in order to ensure that the hanyou would not be able to move until Miroku deemed it acceptable.

"No. Sango is right. Kagome will be back when she is ready to be back. She faced quite the betrayal by you today InuYasha and she deserves time away from you." The hanyou's ears went flat at Miroku's words and he found that he had no response. _What did they expect me to do? Clearly, the wench was fine and I couldn't leave Kikyo there helpless! It's not a big deal, they should be grateful that I protect their sorry asses the rest of the time._ InuYasha ranted mentally to himself, refusing to take responsibility for the gravity of what he had done.

Shaking their heads at his denseness, the others sat down to eat. After they finished, Miroku brought a bowl of soup out to the fuming fox kit, who refused to move from the well. "I don't care when she's getting back, or whether that idiot can get over here, I'm not moving until she's back." Smiling sadly at the little youkai, Miroku sat down to keep him company for a little while.

* * *

The blue light set Kagome down gently at the bottom of the well. Looking up, she could see the roof of the well house and noisiness of modern-day Tokyo. Sighing, she began to climb the ladder that had been placed in the well for her use and made her way across the yard. Opening the door to her house, she tiredly kicked off her shoes and called out her greetings, trying to disguise the pain from her voice. "Mom, Grandpa, Souta! I'm home!"

Her mother walked over from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel with a smile. "Hello dear, how long are you back this time?" She embraced her daughter, feeling many of her worries wash away with Kagome's return. "Souta is at a friend's house tonight and your grandfather is out for a walk." Kagome nodded, accepting the explanation for their absence.

"I'm not sure how long I'll be here this time. I think the group will be spending some time in Kaede's village." Kagome was careful not to tell her mother the reasoning behind their stay in Edo.

Her mother stepped back with a raised eyebrow, guiding Kagome to the table and busying herself with heating up leftovers from dinner. "InuYasha agreed to stay?" Kagome flushed and averted her eyes, choosing to fiddle with the tablecloth in lieu of looking at her mom.

Kagome hesitated. "Er, yeah," She tried to come up with an explanation. "I don't think he really had a choice in the matter." Kagome had never told her family about how InuYasha treated her. She didn't want her mother to worry or to ruin Souta's heroic image of the hanyou.

But she wasn't fooling her mother. Hiromi set the food down in front of her daughter and took a seat across from her. Looking kindly at the girl, she rested her chin on her clasped hands. "Okay, so what really happened?" She knew Kagome didn't tell her everything, and she didn't pry, but she could clearly see that her daughter was upset and exhausted and likely needed someone to talk to.

It only took one sentence. Those five words did Kagome in. Her chin trembled and her breath caught in her throat as tears began pouring down her face. She told her mother everything, from InuYasha's treatment of her to Kikyo coming around more and more often to feeling helpless all the time and the resulting lessons from Sango, and finally InuYasha's betrayal. Kagome let out everything she had been keeping from her mother, albeit toning down the dangers for her sake, since she fell down the well. Hiromi listened patiently and by the time Kagome was finished, her food was cold and she was all cried out.

Walking around the table, Hiromi engulfed Kagome in a hug, heart aching at her daughter's trials but forcing herself to be strong for her. She offered Kagome comforting words and reheated the food before sending the tired girl up to shower and sleep. Busying herself in the kitchen once more, she mulled over Kagome's story. Knowing she could do no more than offer her daughter support, Hiromi began preparing for whenever Kagome would be ready to head back to the feudal era.

Though still distraught over the day's events, Kagome felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Being so close to her mother, it was difficult to keep such things from her. She stood in the shower for a long time, allowing the water to wash away any trace of her tears. Once finished, she dressed and laid on her bed. Her head hadn't even hit the pillow before she was sound asleep, weary from the day's events.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the plot or characters in InuYasha

I don't know when or how often I'll be updating. It's just a little story I'm doing in my free time. Please feel free to comment but constructive criticism only, please. If you don't like it then feel free to not read it.

3

Kagome allowed herself no more than one day to rest and recover at home before at least going to check in with her friends. After all, she still had a duty back in the feudal era and the more time she spent at home, the more the chance of innocent lives being lost because of misused jewel shards increased. Kagome spent the day after she returned home doing chores around the house while her mom was at work and researching on the computer for local defense and meditation classes. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense for her to spend time alone to train and become stronger. How was she supposed to help others if she couldn't help herself in battle? She was supposed to be a miko, protector of the Shikon Jewel and the innocent. She knew the hanyou would never allow her the time to train, and she didn't expect the others to join her. It wasn't their responsibility. No, this was something she would do on her own.

_I'll find someone to teach me however much is available here, then I'll go train in the feudal era. _A wry smile appeared on Kagome's face. _There are no real threats for me to practice with here, I think I'd have heard if there were any demons running about. _The image of a regal demon like Sesshomaru walking around modern-day Tokyo among all of the 'despicable humans' popped into her mind and she giggled to herself, mood lightening a bit. She didn't find any promising meditation classes that were within her budget, but she did find a week-long self-defense class that she signed up for, to add to what she learned from Sango. _Screw _him_, _she thought, unwilling to even say InuYasha's name for the moment. _I will 'sit' him into the center of the Earth if that's what it takes for me to stay for this._

The eighteen-year-old miko also decided to switch to online classes for her school work. _I don't know whether I'll be sent back here after the jewel is gone. I need to keep up with my studies. _Kagome was desperately behind in classes and close to being kicked out of school for her lack of attendance. This would allow her to do the classes at her own pace between learning physical defense and asking Kaede for spiritual lessons. Not to mention her family would no longer have to make up fake illnesses and deal with worried classmates or calls from the school. College could wait until after she jewel was completed, but she had to graduate high school to go to college, which was a more time sensitive.

Leaning back in her chair, Kagome let her mind wander to InuYasha. _ I'm surprised the hanyou hasn't come to get me yet - I've been here for longer than two minutes, _she thought sarcastically. Her mind wandered to her diminishing feelings for him. Kagome was starting to realize that she didn't know why she liked him so much. For so long she had believed that she was in love with him but now? He was always telling her how weak and useless she was, always comparing her to Kikyo. Of course, he had nothing negative to say about _her_. Apparently, she was perfect. You know, aside from being walking bones and dirt. She was stronger, knew how to use her powers, prettier, quieter, and the list went on. _You know what though? I haven't seen her use her powers in a long time. The last several encounters we've had with her she's given no indication that she even has any. I wonder what that's about. _Kagome mused silently.

Restless, Kagome stood to walk outside. It was a beautiful sunny day. Walking across her yard, she stood under Goshinboku, the Sacred Tree that Kikyo pinned InuYasha to fifty years ago. _It's been three years since I released him from Kikyo's spell. Could that be why? _Kagome's eyes widened in realization. _I was only fifteen when I was forced into the feudal era, and he was the first guy I spent an extended amount of time around. Not to mention him saving me all the time… he was kind of my knight in bright red armor. _

Kagome placed her hand on the tree, gently tracing the natural grooves in the wood. _I think that's it… the only source of my feelings for him is the infatuation of a teenage girl. Sure, he's attractive and those ears of his are so stinking cute but I'm not a child anymore. _Her hand curled into a fist on the trunk of the tree as she set her mouth in a straight line, teeth clenching together tightly. _ I have been nothing but kind and accepting of him since we met. I have cooked for him, put up with his attitudes and him calling me anything derogatory instead of my name. I am done! I will not put up with his immaturity anymore. I do not deserve to be verbally and emotionally abused like this. _

Kagome realized that she could not love someone who treated her like InuYasha did and seemingly only cared because she was his shard detector and willing to let someone else walk around with a piece of _her_ soul. With the ability to defend herself, there would be no reason for her to stick around him. She could take Shippo with her, and Miroku and Sango would no doubt support her. Being adults, they could choose to continue to travel with the hanyou, which Kagome had no problem with. She would miss them, but she needed to look out for herself now.

The door bounced behind Kagome as she let it fall shut behind her. Grabbing a pen and paper, she wrote a note for her mom to let her know she'd be back in a couple of hours before grabbing a light jacket and heading toward the well house. She didn't doubt that Miroku had something to do with InuYasha's lack of appearance and knew that sooner or later he'd have to be set free. Hopefully she could seal the well by then.

The blue light set Kagome down gently in the feudal era, and she looked up to see a cloudy sky. The young miko climbed out of the well, where she was immediately tackled in a flying hug by Shippo. Gripping the well to steady herself, Kagome smiled fondly down at the fox kit and gave him a little squeeze. "Hey Shippo, what're you doing by the well? I hope you didn't stay out here all night."

Shippo looked up at her seriously. "I didn't want you to be alone when you came back. Everyone else is in the village, Miroku just left here a little while ago. We camped out here. Don't worry though, InuBaka is stuck in Kaede's hut for a while." At the mention of the hanyou, Kagome's smile faltered. Even with her revelations earlier that day, the thought of him still stung. Setting Shippo down, she leaned back against the well.

"Do you think you could do me a favor?" The fox kit immediately nodded, willing to do anything for his adoptive mother. "Could you go get Kaede for me? I don't really want to see InuYasha right now but I need to talk to her."

"Sure Kagome, I'll be right back!" And off he went. Kagome smiled at Shippo's retreating form, her affection for him swelling in her chest. Looking around the clearing, she settled in to wait. It wouldn't be long before they came, but she knew that it would take the old miko a little longer than her companions to make the trip to the well.

Kagome didn't have to wait too long before she spotted four figures in the distance. Waving, she met them halfway and greeted Sango and Kaede with a hug. Miroku stood back and watched the exchange before giving Kagome a sad smile. Once Shippo had some to gather Kaede, he had a suspicion of what Kagome wished to do. Sango was looking at Kagome worriedly, but didn't wish to upset her by bringing anything up so she remained quiet.

"It is good to see ye child. I hope ye have been able to rest at home. What is it you need of this old lady?" Kaede peered up at Kagome with her one good eye, looking for any signs of distress from her ordeal with the hanyou. Having no other living family, Kaede had come to view the younger miko as part of her own, and worried for her well-being.

"It's good to see you too Kaede. I actually have a couple things to ask of you, if that's alright."

The old miko nodded, never one to deny the girl anything. "Of course child."

Taking a deep breath, Kagome began. "I've decided to stay in my time for a little while. I've found a self defenseself-defense class to add to what Sango has been teaching me and I'm doing my school work from home now." The raven-haired girl continued, her voice growing soft. "I know he won't agree, but it's time for me to start taking care of myself. I'm not abandoning my duties here, just," Kagome paused, looking for the right words. Nobody needed to ask who 'he' was. "creating some balance in my life."

Her companions nodded, nobody finding fault with her decision and all silently glad that she had finally put her foot down. Kaede smiled fondly up at her, taking Kagome's young, smooth hand into her old, wrinkled one. "And the request ye have of me?"

Gesturing to the well with her free hand, Kagome looked around at her friends, her family in the past. Her gaze landed lastly on Sango and remained there though her words were directed at Kaede. "I would like you to teach me to seal the well from letting InuYasha through." Shippo hopped onto her shoulder, leaning into his surrogate mother with his silent support. Miroku nodded, unsurprised, while Sango sucked in a breath at Kagome's request. How would they know when, or _if_ she was returning without the hanyou to relay the information? Shaking her head, the demon slayer silently chided herself for doubting her friend. Of course Kagome would come back, and if she didn't, who could blame her?

Kagome's gaze moved to Kaede, who squeezed her hand. "I will help ye seal the well." The younger girl blinked gratefully at the old woman. "Ye had one other thing to ask of this old woman, no?"

Nodding, Kagome smiled. "Yes, I was wondering if you could teach me what you know about my spiritual powers." Hearing those words, Sango hid her grin, proud of her friend. "We know they exist, but I don't know how to use them beyond randomly in battle. I'd like to know how to use them for defense but also if they could be used for healing others as well." Kagome looked hopefully at Kaede.

Pride swelled in the old woman's chest at Kagome's request. She had been hoping the girl would ask for a while, but didn't offer because she didn't want InuYasha to become angry with Kagome. "I am glad ye asked, of course I will help ye." Turning, Kaede began leading the girl the rest of the way to the well. "Come, let us begin with the well so that ye may come and go as ye please."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the plot or characters in InuYasha

I don't know when or how often I'll be updating. It's just a little story I'm doing in my free time. Please feel free to comment but constructive criticism only, please. If you don't like it then feel free to not read it.

4

The young priestess knelt next to the well with Kaede holding a sutra between her fingers, courtesy of Miroku. The monk stood off to the side with Sango and Shippo, the three watching with interest. "Now say a prayer and place it on the well. Make sure you have your intent in mind. Might I make a suggestion?" At Kagome's nod, the old woman turned her gaze to the well. "Ye should place it out of sight, if possible. No doubt InuYasha will not be pleased when he discovers his inability to go through the well."

Humming, Kagome circled the well until she found a spot on one of the corners where the neighboring piece of wood was leaning forward ever so slightly. Kagome kneeled and concentrated on her prayer, making sure her desired effect was at the front of her mind. Once the prayer was made, Kagome's slim fingers were able to slip behind the plank and place the sutra on the other side. "What next, Kaede?"

Kaede shuffled over to the side of the well to inspect Kagome's work. Pleased, she kneeled beside the girl. "One more prayer for it to take effect." Both women bowed their heads and prayed, and their companions joined in to support of their friend.

After a moment, a pink light pulsed from the corner where the sutra was, and Kagome felt it deep within her. A blue light softly pulsed from the bottom of the well, as if in response to the pink pulse. Looking up at her friends, Kagome smiled sadly at them. "Thank you for being here." She didn't need to voice it for them to know her gratitude for them not fighting her decision. Nobody spoke for a few moments, the weight of the situation sinking in. This was the first time in Kagome's three years here that the group had faced this kind of problem. Youkai, Naraku, power-obsessed older broth- sorry, half-brothers... those all seemed minuscule compared to this. This was personal.

Standing, Kagome hugged each of her friends. "I'll be sleeping at home for the time being. Kaede, will early tomorrow morning work?" Shippo remained on her shoulder as she faced the older miko. Knowing the girl was not quite ready to face InuYasha, Kaede nodded and gingerly stood, stepping back toward the other two.

Sango chewed her lip anxiously. "Kagome, we can't leave them in that hut forever. Eventually, Kikyo will wake up and those sutras won't hold for good."

Kagome cringed. _Sango's right but... right now I don't know when I'll be able to face him again. Goodness knows I don't want to see Kikyo either._ Looking out toward InuYasha's forest, Kagome responded in a quiet voice. "How about when I've returned home after my lesson with Kaede, will that work?" As horrible as he had been to her, she felt awful keeping him caged like this. Sango nodded and opened her mouth to reply but Kagome but her off, a thought occurring to her. "Wait, Miroku," Kagome turned her attention to the monk, who had kept fairly quiet up until now. At his questioning look, she continued. "is there a way for you to keep someone in an enclosed space for a period of time?"

Frowning slightly in thought, Miroku nodded slowly. "I believe so. We may have to test it out first though, if you want to do what I think you do." Kagome nodded in response. "How about we try after your lesson tomorrow morning, and then when you come back the next day we can put it to use?" Miroku suggested.

Everyone agreed. They would keep the hanyou where he was for the moment, and free him after Kagome went home for the day tomorrow. Kagome hugged everyone one more time, then said her goodbyes and disappeared into the well with the familiar flash of blue light.

The rest of the day went quickly for Kagome. With her mother at work and the chores done, Sota and Grandpa under strict orders not to disturb her, she was able to get a jump start on her school work. Kagome was pleased to discover that she was much more productive and able to grasp the concepts easier than at school, mainly because she was able to start where she had last left off rather than having to play catch up during the lesson. Her studies went smoothly and time flew by until her mother returned a few hours later.

Kagome brought her mother and Grandpa up to speed on the decisions she had made that day, determined to keep her mother in the loop from now on. Hiromi was nothing but supportive and after some convincing, she was able to get her more traditional Grandpa on her side as well. With the progress she had already been able to make, Kagome was in a good enough mood to make dinner for her family. Sota was skeptical of it, Kagome never previously been one to cook, but her time in the feudal era had forced her to practice when they ran out of ramen. While not spectacular, the soup and vegetables she made had everyone full and content by the end of the meal.

Kagome went to bed early that night, knowing the next day would be busy. After she returned from her early lesson with Kaede, Kagome would have her self-defense lessons followed by schoolwork. She had a lot of work ahead of her, but knowing that at the end of it she would no longer be a liability to her friends made it worth it.

* * *

Sitting cross-legged in a field just outside of Kaede's village, Kagome's eyes were closed as she breathed evenly. Watched carefully by Kaede, she had been meditating for over an hour. This was the first step in being able to access the energy inside of her. Their friends had opted to stay near Kaede's hut, so as not to arouse InuYasha's suspicions.

"Alright, child," Kaede spoke softly to avoid startling the girl. "Look inward now. Do ye feel the energy?" She could feel it, deep within her. But... where? It was difficult to pinpoint. It's almost as if... as if it was everywhere. Kagome frowned. _But there has to be some central location. If only I could find that... There!_ Almost breaking her focus, the girl felt herself buzzing with excitement. Below her sternum, but still between her ribs, she felt a well of pure energy. Weird, it feels like it's really deep inside of me but at the same time perfectly balanced in the center of my body. "Good, Kagome. Now hold out your hands and picture a sphere. Ye should be able to pull from within to form the shape."

Kagome concentrated on picturing the sphere in her outstretched hands. A breeze made some of her hair blow across her face and she impatiently blew it away. It was a while before Kagome felt a distinctly familiar pull from within and there was a flicker of pink energy between her hands before it disappeared. Her excitement returned, and she grinned up at Kaede. "Did you see that?" Kaede chuckled, nodding, and instructed her to try again.

They continued like this for quite some time before Kagome was successful in creating her sphere. The older miko had her practice making various shapes of different sizes, testing the girl's powers. She was impressed. It took most mikos at least a week of meditation before being able to manifest any sort of physical form, and even then, did not have the ability to do what Kagome was currently practicing.

Before they wrapped up their first lesson, Kaede began teaching the girl how to form a barrier at will. This was different from the shapes as it required Kagome to keep it up for longer periods of time, depending on the situation. Sweat poured down Kagome's face, the use of her previously neglected abilities taking its toll. "Just a little more, Kagome. Can ye make it larger?" The barrier, currently just large enough to surround the two, shot out to cover almost the whole field at once. Nodding, Kaede instructed the girl to release her barrier. "Ye will need to practice your control, of course."

Before Kagome departed, Kaede instructed her to practice what she had been taught today. _The child has made more progress today than most make in months... I believe she may even surpass my sister._ The thought made Kaede pause, for Kikyo was one of the strongest mikos of her time. Speaking of the dead woman, she had disappeared before she had risen that morning with not a word to anyone. Even stranger, she had left InuYasha's binds untouched. It had been early enough that none of the other villagers had been up either, and had not seen her go. Not that Kikyo had been incredibly social since she was brought back from the dead, but still.

Kagome met Miroku and Shippo at an empty hut near Kaede's. Kagome's idea for using the sutras on an enclosed area turned out to be pretty simple. Miroku just needed to put the sutras on the doorway and bring the hanyou into the building. With the nature of the sutras, InuYasha would be unable to exit until they allowed it. They'd only be able to use it once, since the hanyou wasn't a total idiot, despite what his choices would suggest. Once that was set up, the young miko made her way back to her time to prepare for her next lesson.

Kagome didn't bother to shower when she returned home, knowing that she was going straight to her next workout. Arriving at the dojo, the miko was surprised to discover that her instructor was a very toned woman who looked to be not much older than Kagome. She wore no makeup and her black hair up in a tight ponytail. The leggings and loose tank top she wore showed off her toned legs and arms.

"You must be Higurashi." Her hard brown eyes and no-nonsense tone of voice rooted Kagome to her spot near the door. Kagome nodded hesitantly and the girl turned to face the other four students that Kagome did not notice at first. "You're late. Get in line."

Glancing at the clock as she hurriedly set down her bag, Kagome noted that it was barely one minute past eight. Snapping her mouth shut to force herself from protesting, she grabbed her water bottle and jogged over to the end of the row, where the girl next to her shot the miko a sympathetic look. _Great, first day and I've already made a bad impression. _Kagome's mood threatened to lower but she forced herself to stay positive. She was going to make this a good day.

Unlike some self-defense classes she'd heard of from her friends, this one was no walk in the park. Barely ten minutes in, Kagome and her fellow students were already pouring sweat. They hadn't even gotten to the forms yet! Her teacher, Ai, had them doing some "minor strengthening" exercises. Her mindset was that even though you don't need to be stronger than your attacker to fend them off, doesn't mean you need to be a twig and wait for them to snap your neck – as she so eloquently worded it.

"Back straight!" Ai barked out as the five gasping students shook in their plank positions. Even with Sango's lessons, Kagome's core was burning and she wanted nothing more than to let her body flop to the floor, but she was determined not to be the weak link of the group. Somewhere to her right, she saw a girl whose hair had blue tips do exactly as she had wanted to and landed hard on her chest. "Did I say you could stop?" Their instructor's voice was harsh as she stomped over to the girl and put her hands on her hips.

The girl – Suki – glared up at the Ai. "My foot slipped." Her voice was low, and her teeth were clenched together in an effort to keep her cool. Kagome, along with the other girls, forced themselves not to stare for fear of Ai's wrath. Suki's response would sound a lot more like an excuse if it weren't for the pool of sweat underneath each girl.

"Your foot slipped?" Ai's voice dropped to just above a whisper. She instructed the other girls to come down from their almost three-minute plank, something that the not very athletic girls found incredibly difficult. They gratefully and ungracefully let themselves fall to the floor, limbs shaking and breathing heavily. They made eye contact with each other, nervously listening to the exchange next to them. "Do you think that your assailant will pause and let you regain your footing, help you up when you _slip_?" Her voice was dangerously low and her eyes flashed as she addressed Suki.

Kagome's brows furrowed in confusion. _It was just a plank, it's not like we were going through forms to fend anyone off._ Nevertheless, Kagome was glad not to be in Suki's shoes as she voiced Kagome's exact thoughts. The instructor whipped around to address all five girls. "In this class, you treat everything like your life depends on it no matter how irrelevant it seems, because someday it might. So, if you can't handle that," Ai pointed to the door, looking directly at Suki. "you can leave."

Nobody moved. A few tense moments later, Ai barked out another exercise. Kagome couldn't help but wonder what kind of experience their instructor had to cause her to be this stern in her classes. But she didn't have time to ponder this as they dove into their burpees.

The rest of the class went as smoothly as it could. By the time Ai dismissed them, Kagome and her fellow students were exhausted and trembling. They hadn't learned any forms this class and the miko was left wondering if this was a self-defense class or a muscle destruction class. Kagome's legs felt like jello, and the thought of biking even just the twenty-minute ride home made her want to collapse right there. But she grit her teeth and started her ride home.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the plot or characters in InuYasha

I don't know when or how often I'll be updating. It's just a little story I'm doing in my free time. Please feel free to comment but constructive criticism only, please. If you don't like it then feel free to not read it.

5

InuYasha was, unsurprisingly, furious when Miroku released him from the sutras. He didn't even pause to breathe as he yelled at Miroku and Sango after failing to grab Shippo when he was initially released. The tirade went on for the better part of an hour before Sango hit him over the head with her Hiraikotsu and snapped that he had no right to complain after what he did. Miroku, though still upset, had calmed down since the incident and calmly followed Sango as she stomped outside.

InuYasha had yelled at Sango for that too before rushing to the well, intending to retrieve Kagome. His companions spent most of their time giving the other villagers apologetic looks, as the hanyou's voice had been heard throughout the village. The two companions made their way toward where Shippo and Kirara were helping Kaede gather herbs on the other side of the village.

All except Kaede cringed as they heard the unmistakable sounds of the hanyou's rage as he discovered his inability to go through the well. Kaede calmly continued gathering her herbs, slowly herded the group further and further from the village and pointing out different types of plants to Shippo as they went along. The fox kit soaked up the information, attention never wavering from the old woman.

"So you can drink that one as a tea, but not eat the leaves?" Shippo's nose scrunched in confusion as he inspected the greyish leaves in front of him, leaning forward to memorize their smell.

Kaede nodded and took the leaves from the kit, placing them in the basket that Sango held for her. "Yes. Ye should let them soak in hot water but make sure to remove them from the tea before you drink. They are not fatal, but ye will be quite uncomfortable for a good while should ye consume them. They are not common in most areas, but they are useful for quick muscle recovery." At the group's questioning look, she hummed and continued on. "For example, if ye are in a difficult battle and drink this tea before ye go to bed, the soreness ye experience in the morning will be minimal."

"Ohhh I see. Thanks, Kaede!" Shippo grinned and ran ahead with Kirara, searching for more of the herb. Kaede gave the kit a small smile before turning to the two humans beside her.

"Sango, ye have extensive knowledge of different plants and herbs from your training, do ye not?" At the slayer's nod, Kaede turned to gaze toward where Shippo was bent over in the grass. "It would be good if ye were to share your knowledge with the kit during your travels. It is something his parents would have taught him."

Sango looked over at the kit thoughtfully, shifting the large basket to her hip. "You're right, I guess I never thought about it. I'll teach him as we go, it'll be easier for him to remember that way rather than me just describing them."

By the time InuYasha caught up with them, the group was already well outside of the village. Though still in control of his demon side, the hanyou looked livid. He landed in front of Kaede, who to her credit did not flinch. Snarling, he crouched to get in her face as she calmly continued her herb gathering. "What have you done, you old bat?" His tone was ice cold, and he dug his claws into the ground to keep from grabbing her throat. Miroku put a hand on Sango's arm to keep her from interfering, knowing the hanyou wouldn't hurt the old woman.

Kaede smoothly moved around him and crouched to pick a purple looking sprout and put it in Sango's basket. "I have only supported the girl, InuYasha." Her tone was calm, but there was a sharp note to it as she moved, never looking at him.

"What does that mean?" InuYasha ground out, his hands curling into fists as he followed her. "Why can't I get through the well?"

"Kagome made her own decision to seal the well, InuYasha. She would have done it with or without my help. I just happen to agree with her decision." Shippo chose that moment to come bounding back, arms full of herbs. Kirara was close behind, more herbs held gently in her jaw.

"Kaede look what I fou-" He stopped short at the sight of the hanyou, green eyes narrowing. Turning sharply, he looked up at Kaede. "Could you teach me about these next? I found some more of the grey ones too!" He nodded over to Kirara, who had placed herself protectively between Shippo and InuYasha.

"Oi, runt! Where have you been?" InuYasha snapped at the kit, who steadily ignored the older demon.

"Of course, child. Kirara, will ye please place those in the basket?" The fire neko, unwilling to move from her place between Shippo and InuYasha, looked at her companion. Understanding immediately, Sango stepped forward to bring the basket to her.

She slayer looked praisingly at the kit. "Nice job, Shippo. Those will be a big help to us." Shippo beamed and held out the new herbs for Sango and Kaede to inspect.

"What am I, chopped liver? Don't ignore me runt!" InuYasha stepped forward, fist raised, but with a snarl and burst of flames Kirara crouched in front of him, fully transformed. InuYasha stopped, shocked at the sight. "Kirara what's wrong with you? It's just me."

The fire neko continued to glare at him, bristling with her lip curled, as Miroku stepped up beside her. Laying a hand on her shoulder, he gazed at the hanyou. "I believe she does not want you to touch Shippo, my fr-." He stopped, expression turning sad. "InuYasha."

A sliver of confusion broke through the rage in the hanyou's eyes. "It's just me guys… you know I wouldn't hurt any of you, right?" Nobody answered as they avoided eye contact with him. Sounding truly confused, he looked in askance at each of them. "Why don't you trust me?"

It was Shippo who responded. His voice was quiet, but his tone and gaze were cold as he looked at the hanyou. "You would have let her die, InuYasha. You chose to save a dead woman over the one who has been there for all of us, especially you, since day one." He hopped onto Sango's shoulder. "We have been in many battles and dangerous situations, but you have never turned your back on her like you did that day. Are you really surprised that we no longer trust you?" The kit sounded much wiser than his age as he finished speaking.

Several moments passed as InuYasha gaped at the kit. When he spoke, his voice sounded lost and confused. "Is she ever coming back?"

"Perhaps. But it is her decision and no concern of yours." Sango responded, her unrelenting anger returning. InuYasha flinched, looking helplessly at Miroku.

"Miroku?" Miroku sighed and met his gaze.

"You are our friend, InuYasha, and we care about you. But your actions are inexcusable and you will have to work to prove that you are trustworthy again. I expect that you will stay away from Lady Kagome until she is ready to speak with you." His voice became stern at the end. "And the first thing that you say to her will be an apology." Miroku's tone was final.

Looking at the monk despairingly, the hanyou dashed off, no doubt to sulk on his own. "The boy still does not understand, ye will need to keep an eye on him." The three companions nodded at Kaede's words, knowing she spoke the truth. Sighing, she shook her head and turned to Shippo, gesturing to his forgotten herbs. "Now, child. What have ye brought me?"


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the plot or characters in InuYasha

I don't know when or how often I'll be updating. It's just a little story I'm doing in my free time. Please feel free to comment but constructive criticism only, please. If you don't like it then feel free to not read it.

**6**

The rest of the week went by quickly for Kagome. She would start her mornings early with Kaede, making progress with her spiritual side. By the third day she was able to hold any size barrier with no problem while Shippo, Sango and Miroku would test the strength of it with their own skills. The hanyou was scarce around the village, and Miroku speculated that he was probably somewhere in InuYasha's forest. Though the group had encountered no need to contain InuYasha while Kagome was training, the miko still put up a barrier for the duration of the lesson.

After her lessons with Kaede, Kagome would attend the self-defense lessons in her own era. The pace of the class was intense, as though Ai was trying to train soldiers instead of normal girls. They began learning actual defensive forms during the second class, but still spent a large amount of time strengthening their bodies. Ai's strict demeanor did not change, nor did she seem to have any reservations about scolding or barking orders at them. The most praise the girls received from their tough instructor was a nod of approval when they did a form correctly.

Strangely, Ai seemed to push Kagome the hardest. To her, Kagome never ran hard enough, never hit hard enough, and never moved fast enough. Despite Kagome's near perfect form, she never received more than a blink in her direction to indicate she was doing well. Kagome's frustrations grew throughout the week but she refused to let them show in front of the rest of the girls, or her instructor.

Her frustrations with Ai did not hinder her progress in her other tasks. After her self-defense class, Kagome would return home to shower and meditate. Now that she was practicing with her spiritual side, Kagome found that she had a much easier time of meditating. She would no longer get fidgety after short periods of time or feel the need to look around. In fact, she found that if she focused on her awareness of both her body and her surroundings that she could sense the energy in everything around her. She felt the slow, calm energy of the old Goshinboku tree in her yard, the high, excited energy levels of the mice and squirrels, and so much more.

The meditation also helped to calm and focus her thoughts for each task. Because of this, she was already caught up to where her classmates would be in their lessons by the fourth day. It helped that she would spend the majority of her day working on classwork after her morning exercises were complete. Her grandfather, the only other person home during the day and maybe the biggest supporter of her continued education, was careful not to disturb her. She found that without distractions such as her friends trying to get her to date Hojo all the time, she made very quick progress with her schoolwork. As much as she loved the girls, it was difficult to focus on more important things when they were in her face all the time. Kagome also liked the fact that she was able to see how much work she had left until the end of the semester, and work ahead if she finished before the time was up. In a classroom setting, she would have had to work at the pace of her classmates and teacher.

Before her mother and brother came home, Kagome would prepare dinner for the family. It was the least she could do after everything her mom had done for her. It also gave Kagome the opportunity to improve her cooking skills. With all the time she spent in the Feudal Era, she did not spend time learning those kinds of skills from her mom like other girls her age. While each dinner was far from gourmet, Kagome worked hard to make sure it was edible and learn from each mistake she made. Over just four days, she was able to master cooking rice and curry. Though it may seem like a simple meal to cook, Kagome's determination to teach herself made the task more difficult.

The young miko had made more progress than she could have hoped by the end of the week. Being able to focus on the tasks she desired and not being dragged back to the Feudal Era did wonders for her progress. She was able to create strong barriers and many shapes with her spiritual energy, fend off a surprise attack, cook not just an edible, but a tasty dinner, and meditate for hours without stopping. She was also ahead in her classes, which shocked her since she had started out so behind.

By the time Friday came along, Kagome was in high spirits. She was looking forward to the weekend, when she would allow herself a small break. She was sore in places she didn't know could get sore and exhausted in both mind and body. But that didn't stop her from throwing herself into her work.

Being that she was not a strong miko herself, and had no higher-level training, Kaede had taught the young miko almost everything she could. The majority of Friday's lesson was practicing what she had learned with distractions, such as facing multiple opponents in the form of her friends. During these sessions, she was not allowed to use a constant barrier. Kaede wanted her to practice making small, focused barriers so that she wouldn't need to expend too much energy keeping a constant barrier up during a battle. This also gave her an opportunity to practice some of her self-defense and combine it with using her barriers during battle.

Kaede clapped her hands to get everyone's attention as Kagome threw up a small barrier to her left and kicked out at Miroku in front of her. Panting lightly, she grinned at Miroku and turned toward the older woman as Shippo, Kirara, and Sango joined them. Kaede regarded the young miko with a pleased look.

"I have taught ye almost all that I can, child. This old woman is surprised and pleased with how quickly ye were able to master these skills." Kagome smiled and dipped her head in acknowledgement of the praise. "Do not mistake me, ye still have much to learn. Ye will have to look elsewhere to further your skills, these were just the basics. But ye are more than capable of defending yourself now, so long as ye do not happen upon a demon such as Naraku." Kaede looked upon the group affectionately. "I am proud of ye, all of ye. This has been a difficult week but ye have handled it well."

The group murmured their thanks to the older woman. A movement caught Kagome's attention and she glanced over to the trees. A flash of red was all she saw before it disappeared from sight. Frowning lightly, she returned her gaze to the older woman. _He still doesn't have the guts to face me, huh? I guess I shouldn't complain, I don't really want to see him either._ Clearing her throat, she turned to Sango. "Hey Sango, since we finished early today, will you spar with me? We haven't since we got back to Edo and I'd like to get back into that."

Sango didn't hesitate to agree and the others moved out of the way to give them space. Without giving Kagome time to prepare, Sango rushed at the girl. The miko was forced to react instinctually to block the slayer's blows, relying on both her previous lessons from Sango and her self-defense lessons. Though they were more defensive than offensive, Kagome was able to hold her own by merging the knowledge she had gained from both Ai and Sango.

The fight went on for a good fifteen minutes, with Kagome mostly on the defensive. She was able to get a couple of good jabs in at Sango, but would always be immediately forced back to defense. Miroku, Kaede, Shippo, and Kirara looked on with interest as the girls went at it. They were forced to keep moving back as the girls fought, since the girls kept coming closer and closer, not paying any mind to their spectators.

Kagome blocked a swipe to her side and whipped around to kick at Sango's knees when she found herself kicking empty air. Losing her balance, she crouched low to the ground and immediately found herself with an arm around her neck and Sango pressed against her back. Neither girl moved for a few heartbeats, panting heavily before Sango released Kagome and offered her a hand up. The girls grinned at each other as their companions clapped. "You've gotten better, Kagome! That's the longest you've lasted against me one on one." Kagome laughed breathlessly. "I've still got experience on you, but if you'd like we could continue our lessons after you're done with Kaede in the mornings?"

The young miko nodded and shook her sore arms out. "I'd like that, my self-defense lessons end today so I won't have to leave so soon starting next week."

"Is that where those moves came from? I would have had you much sooner but you kept catching me off guard with moves I didn't recognize."

"Probably. The class really only teaches defensive moves but my teacher has been such a slave driver and destroying our bodies." At her friends' confused looks, Kagome clarified. "She's been having us do a lot of strengthening exercises so my muscles are sore all the time."

Shippo jumped up onto Miroku's shoulder excitedly. "Hey Kaede, could we make some of that tea for Kagome? The one you said would help with soreness?" Kaede nodded thoughtfully.

"That is a good idea. Would ye mind going ahead to fetch the leaves? They should be in a basket in my hut." Kirara and Shippo bounded off in the direction of the village. The adults followed behind at a more leisurely pace, a comfortable silence falling among them. Kagome rolled her shoulders and winced, rubbing her bicep as they walked.

"Jeez Sango, I'm definitely going to have some bruises tomorrow, if I don't already." The girl griped good naturedly at her friend.

Raising her hands in an innocent gesture, Sango chuckled. "Hey, it's not like you didn't land some good hits either. I'm sure my side is going to be sore from that jab!" The two girls laughed together while Kaede and Miroku shared an amused smile.

"Kagome," The old miko caught the girl's attention, "ye also asked me to teach ye how to use thy powers for healing purposes." Kagome nodded, her full attention on Kaede. "Let us begin while we enjoy our tea."

"That sounds great, thank you Kaede." The young miko smiled happily at Kaede. Reaching the old woman's hut, they filed inside to find that Shippo had not only gathered the necessary leaves, he had started a fire to heat the water. The kit sat with Kirara by the fire, jumping up when he saw them walk in.

"Look Kaede, I started the tea!" He gestured proudly at the fire as he jumped into Kagome's arms. The old miko chuckled, moving to straighten the pot over the fire and inspect the tea.

"Indeed ye did child, well done. It should be ready soon." Kaede settled herself in her usual spot within tending distance of the fire and began speaking as the others settled themselves around her hut. Kagome sat across from the old woman, excited to learn about healing with her spiritual energy. Kaede gazed at the young miko for a moment before addressing her. "Tell me Kagome, what do ye think about when ye create thy barriers? Think about thy energy, how do ye feel when it is called upon?"

Kagome chewed her lip, thinking back to their lessons. "Well," she started, glancing at her companions. "I try to imagine what I would feel if my friends are in danger. I guess what I mean is that I want to protect them, and that's what I think about when I create them."

Kaede nodded. "Good. So what would ye would need to feel to use thy energy for healing purposes?"

"I would need to want to make them feel better, to heal them." Kagome murmured thoughtfully.

Nodding, Kaede gestured for Sango to sit beside them. "Indeed. Sango, did ye not cut thy hand gathering herbs the other day?"

"Oh yeah, I'd almost forgotten about that." The slayer held up her left hand, showing a thin red line across the side of her palm. Kaede prompted Kagome to attempt to heal the scratch. The young miko gently held Sango's hand, inspecting the cut. It was thin and shallow, a good starting point for Kagome. Closing her eyes, Kagome thought about how she created her barriers, trying to mimic that feeling. Instead of the desire to protect her friend, she focused on wanting to heal her. Taking a deep breath, she began to call on her spiritual energy.

Her friends looked on as both Kagome and Sango's hands were engulfed in the soft pink glow that they recognized as Kagome's energy. _My hand… it's warm. Is this normal?_ Sango looked in wonder at her hand, noting that the warmth seemed strongest around the area of the scratch. Kagome bit her lip in concentration, brows furrowing. She could feel her energy knitting Sango's skin back together and tried to memorize everything she was feeling throughout the process.

While it took only a few minutes, the process felt like hours to Kagome. When the glow faded from their hands and the scratch was gone, the young miko sat back, looking pale. As with every new skill she learned with her energy, it took a toll on her. Sango inspected her hand with wide eyes. In all her years as a demon slayer, she had never been healed by a miko like this. Her skin was perfectly smooth, as if the cut had never been there.

"Well done, child." Kaede smiled at the girl, pride swelling in her chest. Much like the other skills Kagome had learned, most mikos would not have been able to achieve healing even such a small scratch on the first try. "Ye should practice every day, on anything ye can find. Bruises and small aches will suffice as well."

Kagome smiled tiredly at the older woman and took a sip of the tea that Miroku offered her. "Thank you Kaede. I will try to find some anatomy books in my time as well, I assume healing more serious injuries will require at least some background knowledge?" Kaede nodded in affirmation.

"Thy energy will do most of the work, but a basic understanding of the human body is necessary, yes." The small group continued chatting until Kagome had finished her tea. Standing, she smiled at her friends and said her goodbyes before heading back to the well to finish the rest of her work for this week in her own time.

The final day of their self-defense lessons was equally, if not more intense than the rest of the week had been. The normal strength workout was twice as hard as before, and the girls were dripping with sweat by the end of their warm up. Ai taught them no more moves during this lesson, but was pushing them harder with what they had learned so far.

With an odd number of girls in the class, Ai took it upon herself to be Kagome's practice partner. When the older woman finally called for a short water break, Kagome bent over with her hands on her knees to try to catch her breath. _Dang, I can barely keep up with her._ Glancing up at the rest of the group as her instructor weaved her way through them, Kagome took a sip of her water. _Also, why does it seem like every correction she makes to anyone is directed at me?_ She'd been noticing that whenever Ai barked out instructions to anyone to correct their form, she'd give Kagome a meaningful look, as if it were meant for her even though she wasn't making that particular mistake. Wiping the sweat from her brow, she tried to shake off her frustrations and mingle with the other fatigued girls. Unfortunately, their break did not last long and they were soon back at their lesson from hell.

If the girls were hoping to be let out early because it was their final lesson, they were sorely disappointed. By the end of their lesson, each girl was having a hard time standing from the workout their instructor had just put them through. Kagome leaned against the wall by her bag, willing the strength to return to her legs so she wouldn't fall over while bending to gather her things. Not one for needless words, Ai's only parting words were that this was their final lesson and wishing them good luck and she hoped they wouldn't have to use these skills.

As she was walking toward the door, Kagome heard her name being called. Turning, she found Ai walking toward her and Kagome's stomach clenched. _What could she possibly want from me now? I wasn't exactly her favorite._ Forcing a tired smile, she tilted her head at her instructor. "Did you need something?"

Reaching the girl, Ai held out a small business card. "If you ever need anything, you can reach me here." An astonished Kagome took the card from her, finding her phone number, address, and email on the card. Looking up at her instructor, she couldn't keep the surprised look off her face. "You… did well this week." Though it seemed like Ai struggled to get those words out, the slight smile and gleam in her eye was more praise than Kagome had gotten in all their lessons combined.

Stuttering her thank you, Kagome clutched the card in her hand as she watched the older girl head back to her office without another word. Dazedly, she tucked it into her bag and made her way home, a familiar burning in her legs with every turn of her bike pedals.


End file.
